renting at 50yrs

onewish

Hi,
Me and my wife are in our 50s and we rent a property from the council. We need some advice on how we could get onto the property ladder. As far as I understand we are too old to get a mortgage now which makes it very difficult for us. Any advice would be much appreciated.

beecher2

You wouldn't be too old to get a mortgage - just might not be able to get a long term. You don't give many details - assuming you have a deposit saved and have a high enough income, go to see a broker to see what deals are out there.

Do keep in mind that you're giving up a secure tenancy so make sure you're not overstretching yourselves financially.

princeofpounds

You are not prohibited from getting a mortgage, but you won't be able to get standard 25 year mortgages. You may be able to get lower LTV, lower life mortgage that could help with a proportion of the cost. But obviously you yourselves won't want to be servicing or looking to refinance a mortgage in your pension years.

Why do you want out of the council property? Normally the rents are cushy, the security of tenure is excellent.

getmore4less

What's the rent if reasonable it might still be the best long term option.

how long have you been there do you qualify for right to buy.

onewish

Our rent is £650 per month. We are in a 15 year lease with 2 years remaining. We don't have much deposit. We were thinking of trying to get a buy to let mortgage with our small deposit, hopefully it would pay for itself a we would end up with a home to retire in. Alternatively, maybe try and buy our property. We don't have any debts, we paid of loans and overdraft last year.

marathonic

onewish wrote: »

We were thinking of trying to get a buy to let mortgage with our small deposit, hopefully it would pay for itself a we would end up with a home to retire in.

If it's to live in yourself, you need a residential mortgage. If it's to rent out, you need a buy to let mortgage and a 20% deposit.

moneyistooshorttomention

I am wondering as to the reasons for wishing to move from the Council place as well.

If you are in an awful estate AND have "always known from birth that you are a home-owner (ie so feeling "how come I don't HAVE my own home yet?") then I can understand and it makes sense.

I was in public sector housing some years back and it was the combination of the estate having "taken a dive down" and I didn't want to dive down with it (drugs/a deliberate fire/etc) and I was born knowing I'm a home-owner (ie my family has owned their own home for generations) so it was driving me up the wall not having a home of my own knowing it was what I had always expected. I was a good bit younger than you are now though and jobs were more "secure", hence those two factors came into the equation besides the "What the heck am I DOING here?" factor.

If the estate is okay and home-owning is a "newer" thing in your family, then I'd stay put in your position at your age in the 21st Century economic situation.

There are probably very few houses its possible to buy without promptly having to spend thousands and thousands of £s getting them "working properly"...never mind just the "cosmetic updating" of having your own d!cor and carpets.

I haven't even started on the "cosmetic d!cor" stuff yet on the 1970s place I recently bought and about £20,000 has been spent already (and..no...that doesn't even include a new kitchen/adding a conservatory/sorting out the garden...all of which are probably going to have wait indefinitely).

So, what standard do you expect any home of yours to be at:

a. It will do as it is (as long as its not a total wreck).

b. Want it reasonably finished

c. Want the "cosmetic" stuff too

d. Expect a house to have a done-up garden/a decent kitchen/a conservatory.

Those are the "levels" yer ordinary person in the street regards as THE standard for any house they own. Which one are you at? The cheapest (ie option a) through to the dearest (ie option d).

Maybe I find house ownership SO expensive as I do, because I'm option d and therefore wont stop until the house is absolutely completely finished (conservatory/the lot). Maybe you would regard option a. (the "just leave it as is" option) as acceptable.

We can't tell JUST how much you will expect/want to spend on work on the house from here. As an option d. person a small 2 bedroom house like I have bought is going to cost me £40,000-£50,000 to take it from 1970s to finished. In other words I will run out of money soon with the house half-finished.

PasturesNew

Nobody can really give much advice as you're not giving any details. There's a world of difference between:
1] We're in our 50s, both work part-time as cleaners, and
2] We're in our 50s, own a successful small business earning £80k between us
3] We're in our 50s, about to pick up pensions worth £1000/month each and have a lump sum of £50k.

As well as:
A] We live in London
B] We live in the Midlands.

onewish

We are in our 50s self employed living in Lancashire. .were classed as low income earners. Approx 20k. We haven't had much opportunity in the past to save due to unexpected costs n bad luck in business. Now we are finally debt free we can go on to explore options of owning a retirement home. Up till now clearing debts was our main focus

BitterAndTwisted

What sort of council tenancy comes with a 15 year lease?

shegar

If you have any sense you will stay in your very secure council property, it would be madness to take on a mortgage with a low income at 50 plus.........

Youve also got lots of extras if you did own your own house , where you havent got so much now with council, like ; home and buildings insurance cover , all your own repairs maintenance etc etc, the list goes on.....If its your place its your responsibilty , make the most of what you have is my advice..........